Perfect Lily /Father Figures/Mothers

[jekatiska]

No: HPFGUIDX 150087

<snip>
> Annemehr:
> She does have some very bad fathers, yes - but I don't think it's all
> *that* skewed. Molly and Arthur are very well matched; Amos Diggory
> was just fine; Luna seems quite happy with hers, as was Hagrid with
> his. Lupin's was included in the phrase "my parents tried 
everything;"
> we have no reason to think ill of Frank Longbottom; and James Potter,
> whatever "Ancient Magic" thought of it, gave his life trying to 
defend
> his son.  Dumbledore is a beloved father *figure,* and on the other
> hand, it is Sirius Black's *mother* we hear the worst of, and 
Seamus's
> mother who turns against Dumbledore.

Jekatiska:

I agree, though I wouldn't necessarily classify Amos Diggory as a good 
father. Putting down your child's friends in front of them isn't my 
idea of good parenting (referring to the scene on Stoatshead Hill 
before getting the Portkey to the Quidditch World Cup on GoF).

I would also add a bad mother in the list: Aunt Petunia. She has, 
after all, managed to produce Dudley, although it's obviously not 
solely her fault. I remember reading an interview in which JKR said 
something about Dudley not having a happy childhood either, though 
clearly in a very different way from Harry. I suppose what she means 
is that overindulgence can be just as damaging to a child as neglect. 
Dudley's eating is hardly the behaviour of a healthy, happy boy, but a 
symptom of something else. He kind of puts me in mind of enormously 
fat dogs whose owners won't stop feeding them (there was a rottweiler 
on tv not long ago that was the size of a pony, the cruelty of it 
nearly made me puke). In that interview, I seem to remember, JKR said 
we will find out what the Dementors made Dudley see. That'll be 
interesting.

Jekatiska